Inaugurations for university presidents are typically occasions filled with pomp and circumstance -- scholars and state leaders dressed in full academic regalia, symphonic music and the governor draping the presidential medallion around the new leader's neck.
To the uninitiated, the ceremony might appear to be a graduation -- without the graduates.
While I would have been honored to have had my colleagues and the governor celebrate my inauguration day on campus, the idea that a university as student-centered as Ball State University would have a ceremony in which few students would participate, even as spectators, seemed counter to our mission.
It also goes against my oft-stated number-one priority of putting students first. And that we should plan a large event at a time when the state is considering flatlining funding for public universities does not seem like a very good use of our resources. At Ball State, we think standing by our students is more important than standing on ceremony. Given these reasons, I have chosen to provide educational opportunities to Hoosier students in lieu of a traditional inauguration ceremony.
As Gov. Mitch Daniels and I announced Wednesday at the Statehouse, with the money saved by not having an inauguration, Ball State has established the Inauguration Scholarship Fund. Our initial goal is to provide $20,000 scholarships to 15 of our incoming freshmen from across Indiana. The university is dedicating $150,000 to the fund, and many of our benefactors are applauding this effort by pledging their support. In fact, we have received commitments from 11 benefactors who are graciously giving $10,000 each. With just four more of these "Medallion" gifts, we will have reached our initial goal. However, we know many other friends and supporters of Ball State would like to join this initiative at various giving levels, so we hope to be able to grow the fund to provide several additional scholarships to outstanding young Hoosiers in the future.
The Inauguration Scholarship Fund is our third recent initiative aimed at helping Ball State students and their families offset the cost of higher education. In November, we announced the university would provide $2.6 million in need-based financial aid during the 2005-06 academic year. That's $2 million more than we offered just four years ago, and the $500 to $2,000 grants are renewable for three years, providing students with some added assurance and incentive as they pursue their educational goals.
More recently, we identified 30 Ball State bachelor's degrees that students can complete in three years by attending summer school. The most immediate benefit of this option is that students can enter graduate or professional school or the work force a year early, boosting lifetime earnings by a year's income. The program is also a better use of our resources in several ways. Having more students here in the summer means our buildings will be used more efficiently. We will also provide students on the three-year track with an additional academic counselor, focused solely on making sure students are making sufficient progress, but we will use our existing staff to handle these duties.
We will continue to look for innovative ways to be good stewards of our resources. The Inauguration Scholarship Fund is one way we're celebrating students and inaugurating the future.
Sincerely,
Jo Ann M. Gora
Ball State University President
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